20 Top Airports for International Travel to and From the U.S.

Simply put, the increased traffic is a healthy sign for both inbound and outbound tourism activity in the U.S.

— Jason Clampet

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Last year was a record one for international air travel in and out of the United States.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel & Tourism Office, 185.4 million passengers arrived or departed from U.S. airports, a 4% increase over the previous year. Those passengers flew through a few key airports, both domestic and abroad.

Of the foreign airports funneling passengers in and out of the U.S. ten of them were responsible for 40% of all the traffic. London’s Heathrow Airport was the undisputed leader, with over 14 million passengers going to and from the U.S. It’s a good 30% greater than its nearest competitor, Toronto’s Pearson International. Two airports in Mexico — Cancun and Mexico City — saw the greatest increase in traffic in 2013, a good sign for tourism in the country.

Top 10 Foreign Airports:

Rank

Airport

Passengers (millions)

% Change YoY

1.

London Heathrow (LHR)

14.357

2.1%

2.

Toronto (YYZ)

10.875

4.5%

3.

Tokyo Narita (NRT)

9.597

-0.1%

4.

Frankfurt (FRT)

6.695

1.9%

5.

Paris/de Gaulle (CDG)

6.383

4.7%

6.

Cancun (CUN)

6.176

7.3%

7.

Mexico City (MEX)

5.942

8.9%

8.

Incheon (ICT)

5.035

5.7%

9.

Amsterdam (AMS)

4.601

5.1%

10.

Vancouver (YVR)

4.440

0.4%

Source: The National Travel & Tourism Office

Among U.S. airports, the top ten respresented a dominant share of the international traffic. From New York’s JFK, to Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, 129.9 million Passengers or 70% of the total air traffic, flowed through the leaders. Dallas, Chicago’s O’Hare, and JFK saw the greatest increase in traffic, while New York-Newark remained relatively flat.

Top 10 U.S. Airports:

Rank

Airport

Passengers (millions)

% Change YoY

1.

New York (JFK)

26.662

5.4%

2.

Miami (MIA)

20.118

4.7%

3.

Los Angeles (LAX)

17.753

3.7%

4.

Newark (EWR)

11.587

1.1%

5.

Chicago (ORD)

11.183

5.1%

6.

Atlanta (ATL)

10.228

4.0%

7.

San Francisco (SFO)

9.698

3.7%

8.

Houston (IAH)

9.030

3.5%

9.

Washington Dulles (IAD)

6.931

4.2%

10.

Dallas-Ft Worth (DFW)

6.686

11.3%

Source: The National Travel & Tourism Office

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